Podcast reviews: Interesting lives, soccer’s tragic side and good stories well told

Cristiano Ronaldo with the Henri Delaunay Trophy after Portugal won the UEFA European football championships in 2016

Lucy White

July 11 2021 12:30 AM

Life Changing Apple, Spotify The Beautiful Brain Audible The Dublin Story Slam Podcast Acast, Apple, Podchaser, Spotify

During a pandemic days seem to roll into the next without any distinguishing features. The more we shelter the less likely anything extraordinary will happen.

But good news and bad news, accidents and emergencies, can happen at any time and regardless of our safety nets.

Maybe we should cherish these unremarkable days a bit more: these mean all is safe and well, and provide us with firm roots for when life inevitably gathers a greater pace.

Tony O’Reilly from Co Carlow was 25 when he placed his first ever bet – on a soccer match in the 1998 World Cup, kick-starting a gambling addiction that saw him go on the run after stealing €1.75m from his employer.

Life Changing reveals the extraordinary experiences of ordinary people from O’Reilly to Welsh man Keith Williams, who was raised as the son of a coal merchant but later discovered his birth father was a Malaysian prince; or Grace Spence Green who was left paralysed after a man leapt on her from the top floor of a London shopping centre.

There have been no new episodes since May but hopefully host Jane Garvey has another stash of astounding true stories up her sleeve that reveal the many different hues of humanity.

The Henri Delaunay Trophy may today be in the sweaty grip of the victors of the European soccer championships, but there are darker sides of football to learn about in The Beautiful Brain.

In his 1960s-1970s heyday Jeff Astle was a star striker – scoring 137 goals for West Bromwich Albion – but died aged 59, his last years blighted by dementia-like symptoms.

A coroner recorded a verdict of death by industrial injury: minor but frequent head traumas from, essentially, heading heavy leather balls had caused chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – a degenerative brain condition.

Video of the Day

This poignant four-parter commemorates Astle’s remarkable life and death via interviews with his family by journalist Hana Walker-Brown, who also explores how CTE affects survivors of domestic violence.

Previously the Dublin Story Slam was a live open-mic storytelling event hosted by Colm O’Regan and held in city-centre venues.

And its ‘pivot’ to podcast has been largely successful, with pre-recorded shows online and live Zoom spots during lockdown, in which producer Julien Clancy invites natural-born storytellers to share their real-life personal tales in response to different themes: travel, the kindness of strangers, mothers, escape. Gratifying and unifying.